The rocket carried a playful payload: Mr. Musk’s red Roadster, an electric
sports car built by his other company, Tesla. Strapped inside the car is a
mannequin wearing one of SpaceX’s spacesuits. They are expected to orbit
the sun for hundreds of millions of years.

“It’s kind of silly and fun, but silly and fun things are important,” Mr.
Musk said.

The launch was broadcast live online and has racked up over 700,000 views
on YouTube in less than 24 hours, while also being the second-most-watched
livestream ever.

Space enthusiasts have been celebrating, with many expressing joy and
wonder at the rocket’s launch—and two booster rockets’ safe return to
Earth.

For Musk, the entire adventure is the perfect brand symbiosis: his SpaceX
company gets a shiny attention grabber to help promote its spacefaring
work, and his Tesla car company gets to claim that it has the fastest car
in space. The
bad jokes
about the Roadster’s ludicrous speed out there are already pouring in, plus
this pomp is helping divert attention from Tesla’s recent
Model 3 production delays. It’s the greatest publicity stunt we’ve seen in a long time.

Like Steve Jobs pulling the original MacBook Air
out of a manila envelope
back in 2008, the Tesla onboard the Falcon Heavy rocket was not strictly
necessary to make the event impressive. But the car’s presence and expert
presentation is what elevated that event, it’s what many of us will
remember most vividly, and its
continuing joyride through space
will keep reminding us of the feat. On any other day, the choreographed
twin rocket landing upon return from the successful Falcon Heavy launch
would have been the main event. But then the car came up and everyone was
floored.

Musk used bits of popular culture to win fans as well, playing David
Bowie’s “Space Oddity” during the broadcast and having part of the Tesla’s
dashboard read “Don’t panic,” an homage to Douglas Adams’ “A Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy.”

The pop culture touches did not go unnoticed:

Congratulations @elonmusk and #SpaceX - how I wish Douglas Adams were alive to see “Don’t Panic” in large friendly letters on the Tesla That was a classy addition.

Many wondered what the point of the expensive stunt was. Should the most
powerful rocket of our age not have carried a more useful, worthy payload?

Either way, the plan worked and puts SpaceX far at the front of the
commercial space race.

Though most communicators don’t own rocket manufacturing companies (or even
electric motor companies), they might note Musk’s success at creating a
crossover PR stunt. An unlikely pairing could be just the ticket for two
organizations looking to launch.

What did you think of Tesla’s PR stunt? Was it worth every penny, or just
cheesy?